It is often said that the best things of life are the simplest things. We humans like to complicate things so that the simplest things are made complex and the ones that cannot be made so are taken for granted. Over the years I have come to realize that indeed the most important things are not expensive, in fact, money cannot buy them, for instance, money can buy lust, attraction and power but it cannot buy true love, it maybe able to buy influence but not the truth, definitely not true friendship, peace of mind, time and the list continues, not because money is not important but because these things cannot be bought. Check the links at the end of this article for more things money cannot buy.

As you go through this list, make a note of all the things you have being taking for granted and decide to make a 360 degree turn today. Appreciate these things and watch your life change from ingratitude to gratitude, sadness to happiness, complaint to contentment, comparison to appreciation.

God’s Mercy: no one can claim that they are alive today because of their righteousness, we fall short every day and it is only by God’s mercy that we are still breathing.Romans 6:1-2tells us not to take this mercy for granted and we shouldn’t.

A Mother’s love: after God’s mercy, this should be the top priority. No sane person should ever take his/her mother for granted. Imagine the pains she had to go through to birth you and the sleepless nights, how she made sure you had enough to eat even when it meant for her to starve or work two jobs. Please don’t ever take your parents for granted, pick up the phone right now and call them, tell them how grateful you are and make things right with them. I wish I could call my mom right now to thank her for carrying me for 9 months and going through the pains of child-birth but I can’t because she is in heaven.

Genuine Love: as highlighted earlier we can’t buy true love. There are so many people who have gone to the grave beyond without knowing how it feels like to be loved unconditionally, they neither gave nor received it. Maybe they gave but never received it or they received it but never gave it. So if you find that someone who loves you or vice versa, don’t hold back and don’t take it for granted.

A True Friend: true friends are nearly non-existent because almost everyone is about “what’s in it for me”. Is so hard to find that person who would stand by you, offer that support and encouragement when you need them most and carry you if need be. Whenever I think of a true friend I remember Samwise “Sam” Gamgee and Frodo Baggins in the Fellowship of the Ring movie. The role Sam (Frodo’s best friend) played to ensure that his best friend succeeds in his mission to cast the ring into the lake of fire reflects true friendship.“In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds.” Aristotle. “My dad said to me growing up: When all is said and done, if you can count all your true friends on one hand, you’re a lucky man.” Josh Charles

Time: time is probably everything and it is so sad to see people take this valuable commodity for granted. God gives us 24 hours every day, some people use it wisely while others not so wisely. They give it away so cheaply as if it can be recovered, you cannot achieve anything tangible if you don’t know how to manage your time, honestly speaking, you should be stingy with it. Remember time is money! Agreed that money is not everything but the lack of it makes life miserable.

Don’t take Yourself for granted: You are here for a reason and this world would have been incomplete without you. Think about this, there is no one else with your finger prints; you are unique and don’t take this for granted.

Don’t take anyone for granted: everyone is unique and equal before God. Even if you are highly placed in the society, well-educated, have a good job, have a good family etc just know that our differences are the things that make us unique. Imagine if everyone was like you; oh my gosh life will lack the varieties that spice things up.

Family: when everyone else fails you, your family will be right there to take you in. Value and cherish your family, they are your roots without them there is no you.

Don’t despise humble beginnings: the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step, Rome was not built in a day, and nothing worthwhile was ever built with the speed of light, my point is, good things take time so value and celebrate the baby steps.

Experiences: everything happens for a reason, in my opinion, there are no coincidences. So when things happen focus on the lessons and the takeaways, enjoy and savor those good moments, as for the bad ones, look for the silver lining (nothing is 100% bad or good) because nothing lasts forever.

There’s definitely a lot of things that everyone of us takes for granted every single day and most of the time, or maybe sometimes, we never show our appreciation towards those things, especially God, our parents, and ourselves. Thanks for sharing this. It made me look back to how I’ve got to this point of my life. I hope everyone else feels the same way. There are still people in the world who are prideful and has that sense of excessive self-righteousness. That probably won’t change anytime soon, but hopefully that day will come. Thank you for always inspiring everyone else to change and to be a better version of themselves. Your writings are never taken for granted 🙌.

I must say that I take humble beginnings and my time for granted. I’ve been working on time management but it’s always been something I’ve struggled with. Also I feel as if there are a ton of areas in my life that can be seen as humble beginnings and I can get discouraged if I feel that I should be further along, but it’s ultimately a place where God has me so I need to be content with that ,but at the same time not complacent 🙂

That’s very insightful how we shouldn’t take love and friendship for granted, since they’re a rare commodity. It really is amazing how people can have a genuine devotion to one another on a common ground, without alternate motives. Thanks for the insight bro!